Facilities Spending and Student Learning Outcomes in New Jersey

Racial and economic segregation continues throughout the US due to multiple factors (Rothstein, 2017), and inequality in school infrastructure spendings has been related to racial and economic segregation (Sosina & Weathers, 2019). While the obvious solution is to desegregate neighborhoods, soci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of education finance 2022-06, Vol.48 (1), p.34-53
Main Authors: Rush, Alyssa, Inoa, Rafael, Ramaswami, Soundaram
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Competency based education
Economic aspects
Education
Education parks
Educational Discrimination
Educational Facilities
Educational Finance
Family Income
Finance
Language Arts
Mathematics Achievement
Outcomes of Education
Predictor Variables
School facilities
Segregation in education
Social Discrimination
Socioeconomic Status
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Summary:Racial and economic segregation continues throughout the US due to multiple factors (Rothstein, 2017), and inequality in school infrastructure spendings has been related to racial and economic segregation (Sosina & Weathers, 2019). While the obvious solution is to desegregate neighborhoods, society's inability to do this leads to a dire need to ensure equity in the funding of public interests, including spending on school infrastructure. In addition to understanding the relationship between per-pupil spending on school infrastructure and student academic achievement, this study sought to understand if infrastructure spending in the state of New Jersey is equitable across its districts. Socioeconomic status was found to be the strongest predictor of student learning, with no significant relationship observed between spending on maintenance and operations of facilities and student learning. However, there was evidence of equitable state funding, with implications to the states' funding policies. Of special interest may be New Jersey's establishment of School Development Authority (SDA) districts, the use of equalization aid, and the two percent cap on school district spending.
ISSN:0098-9495
1944-6470
1944-6470
DOI:10.1353/jef.2022.a870005